


beginner's luck

by aurcras



Series: when the ice thaws, the armour cracks [2]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, GrayZa Week, GrayZa play MarioKart, mariokart, there's some underhanded tactics involved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:15:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26046379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurcras/pseuds/aurcras
Summary: he calls it beginner's luck, she says it's his lack of skill.for grayza week 2020 day two, domestic; & day four, you're cute when you're angry.
Relationships: Gray Fullbuster/Erza Scarlet
Series: when the ice thaws, the armour cracks [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1893004
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	beginner's luck

**Author's Note:**

> happy grayza week (again!). i hope this counts as both of these prompts lmao, i just wanted to write some mariokart shenanigans and here we go. i hope you all enjoy!

“That’s the _third_ time, Erza!”

The frustrated shout he lets out can probably be heard by their neighbours, but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t really care about anything at the moment actually, not when he’s getting thoroughly crushed by the smug redhead next to him who’d previously claimed herself a gaming noob. Gray’s onyx eyes narrow at the screen, his grip on his controller tightening in vexation. 

It had been a lazy afternoon, as Gray termed it, and despite his girlfriend’s initial reluctance, all they’d really been doing that day was play MarioKart for the past three hours straight. Erza had actually made herself rather comfortable on his wide lap, using his bare chest as a relaxing seat backing as she leaned against him. At first, he’d paid no mind to it, but now, with his ass getting handed to him, he finds himself getting annoyed. 

Initially, the game of MarioKart had been one he’d always enjoyed, specifically because he was one of the most skilled amongst his large friend group. Not to mention that it was also the one game he could confidently defeat Natsu at, with his rather proud 250 to 0 victory count being one he flaunted each time his pink-haired rival got too cocky for his own good. 

And with MarioKart being one of those must-try games, he figured that sharing one of his favourite past times with his dear girlfriend was a duty he should uphold, and so he did. Except he didn’t think that by doing so, he’d end up suffering a major blow to his ego.

Though now that he really thinks about it, he shouldn’t have been so surprised. Erza had always been quite competitive by nature, and with MarioKart practically encouraging all forms of underhanded tactics in order to achieve victory, it made perfect sense she’d be so aggressive. This, paired with the knowledge that she’s never even played the game before and is still brutally pulverising him after each race, riddles him as to whether to laugh or cry at her unprecedented vigour. 

Not so soon after that thought forms, a pained yelp tears its way from his mouth as Gray is forced to watch in absolute horror at the tragedy playing before him. His innocent Blue Falcon, which had just managed to get a lead on her Wild Wing, is now falling victim to a nasty blue shelled explosion, courtesy of the Queen of Cheaters sitting on his lap. 

The triumphant sound escaping her lips makes his eyes narrow, Gray now glaring piercing holes into the back of her head. She’s the Queen of Cheaters alright; this probably marks the third time she’s sent a blue shell his way on this race alone. Yet even that seems like a better tactic than having her essentially bulldoze him off the Rainbow Road, feigning innocence and claiming it as an accident as she’d attempted to drift her way around the corner. 

On the other races, he swears he’s being unfairly targeted by her when she purposely only uses her banana peels when he catches up to her. They’re in a game with ten other CPU’s and yet she doesn’t use the same tactic unless he’s the one trailing her, so he doesn’t think he’s being unreasonable about this. Not when he’s had to watch his kart hopelessly slip on the peel and push him back a few places.

Plus, whenever she’d gotten that dumb star item, she had always made it a point to directly crash into him just as she did when they’d gotten into bumper cars together at the amusement park. Gray didn’t really care that it’s standard MarioKart practice, that this is the expected use of the items. 

No, all that matters is that _he’s_ being the one targeted, unfairly too. And no matter how much she tries to deny it, he’s garnered a long list of evidence of her cheating ways. 

Unfortunately, it’s been working. Really well. 

“You’re cute when you’re angry, you know that?” 

He doesn’t even need to look at her face to know that she’s sporting a smug smirk on her face, one that would normally have his heart racing but now only brings a pile of irritation. Gray scowls from behind her, huffing. 

“That’s not going to work on me, Erza. You won’t find me so cute when I beat you this time.”

He presses on the buttons even harder, his nose scrunched in concentration. There’s no way he’s going to lose this race, not when his whole pride is on the line. Girlfriend or not, Erza is going _down_.

She snickers, “You said that the last couple of races, and you still haven’t won. Are you sure you weren’t lying about that winning streak against Natsu?”

Just as she says it, she crosses the finish line of her third lap and Gray stiffens under her. He doesn’t know if choosing Baby Park for their final rematch is still considered a good thing, not when she’s so close to beating him.

He scowls, eyes flashing when he sees that she’s stolen his number one ranking and has pushed him down to seventh place. The male mumbles an incoherent curse to himself, trying to will his kart to go even faster.

“Just for that, you’ve lost all lap-sitting privileges,” he declares haughtily, shifting back to lower his legs. This forces her to slide off his lap onto the ground, landing with an unceremonious thud. 

Erza whips her head around to glare at him, hand reaching to rub her sore backside. “Now you’re just being petty.”

Gray shrugs, pointedly ignoring her to resume focus on the screen. 

“If you think that’s petty, watch _this_.”

He quickly speeds up to her, using her fall as the golden opportunity to catch up. Without hesitation, he releases his withheld green shell, lips curving into a smug smirk as he watches it slam into the rear of her Wild Wing. Her kart spins and Gray overtakes her in an instant, poking his tongue out easily.

Erza’s eyes widen in horror before they quickly narrow into a glare, the redhead growling as she tries to catch up to him. She jabs him not so lightly in the side with her elbow, and while this normally would make him keel, he’s completely unfazed. 

Gray continues to accelerate innocently, relishing in his success of retaining his well-earned first place position. As he retrieves another item box, he keeps a steady eye on her movements from his peripheral, calculating potential strategies and the appropriate countermeasures. 

He sees her grab an item box soon after, another green shell in her inventory, and he puts two and two together. There’s a high possibility she’ll repeat the same move as he did, with the green shell’s trajectory being so unpredictable, and he decides _no_. Not today she isn’t, because like hell is he going to be played by his own moves

Fortunately, the item box he’d gotten earlier had given him the perfect counteraction: a single peeled banana. While he needed to time the release accurately, it’s the only feasible way he can block her unwanted shell when the time requires. 

However, this only leads to moments of a stalemate as neither makes the first move. With their tactics all figured out, it’s only natural he is to rely entirely on his skill to get him through his last lap. 

But he is so distracted by trying to win this race that he doesn’t realise she has another tactic up her sleeve until it’s too late.

* * *

His demeanour has changed. Gray has noticeably become more agitated after each loss, but she’s never seen him so determined and focused on a race like he is now. It’s as though he’s racing for his life, and if she hadn’t been so caught up in trying to gain the final victory herself, she’d be watching his race with silent admiration. 

Erza’s known him long enough however, to expect one thing: Gray isn’t going to give up any time soon. He isn’t going to make the first move, meaning she needs to change her plans. ASAP.

Glancing back at him, a thought slowly forms in her mind. It’s diabolical and dirty, but he’ll probably thank her later. She’ll make sure of it. 

Erza licks her lips, discreetly shuffling backward where she knows he’s still sitting. She takes a quick peek to check that his eyes are still glued to the screen, and satisfied by what she’s seeing, she decides to put her plan into action.

Quietly, she takes a hand off her controller and nonchalantly reaches out to the destination of choice, his thigh.

With her eyes not leaving the screen, Erza slowly caresses his thigh with feather-light touches. She can feel him stiffen, encouraging her to lift her hand higher as she snakes it up to the side of his body. The redhead can feel his body react to her touch, almost shuddering as she continues to move her hand upward.

She glides her hand across his toned bicep, gently squeezing it as she lifts her hand, and she feels sudden gratitude for his stripping habit. It only makes him more sensitive to her touch, hearing him suck in a breath at her ministrations. It’s clear that his attention is slowly being drawn elsewhere and her smirk grows wider.

“Erza,” he growls lowly but she can still hear a soft whine in his voice as he does so. She watches as he narrowly avoids falling off the side of the road, abruptly swerving back onto the track.

This only encourages her to ignore him, hands continuing their exploration of his body. Erza slowly slides her hand from his bicep to his collarbone, her fingers gently trailing across his fair skin. She can feel goosebumps rising at her touch and she dips her hands lower, hands fanning across his chest.

She pauses over his heart to feel it thumping erratically against her palm, a sign of well-earned victory. 

A small smile graces her lips as she guides her fingers down to meet the outlines of his defined abs. He’s always been naturally fit, but his status as an ice hockey player has required him to maintain his shape, a requirement that makes him very easy on the eyes. 

She can feel his breathing slowly, possibly struggling to breathe against her touch, and she knows he’s done for. She knows exactly where to touch to make him go crazy and he knows that better than anyone. Soon enough, Gray unconsciously pushes out a bit more of his stomach against her touch, Erza smiling knowingly at him. 

Again he’s close to falling off the road, barely managing to steer back to the centre for safety. But that doesn’t please her, not when she finds that he’s still somehow managed to keep the lead, even if it is only just. Plus with the fact that she’s struggling to continue her ministrations and race with only one hand on the controller, she’s come to an ultimatum. 

To race, or not to race.

Or more accurately, if she can’t win this race then… neither can he. 

Though, she doesn’t find it to be too much of a loss. Distracting Gray seems to be much more enjoyable than she’d initially thought. 

* * *

Gray raises a brow when she deftly drops her controller to the ground. It’s as though she’s abandoning the game, and his blood runs cold at the thought. This can’t be anything good; all the alarm bells are ringing deafeningly in his ears. 

“Erza, what are you—”

The words die in his throat when he feels her lips press a kiss against his jaw. 

Gray shivers. “Erza—” he tries again, but he’s soon cut off by another kiss being pressed against his neck.

His eyes widen. 

“Why are you doing this? I’m about to—”

She ignores him, instead surging forward to straddle him. This blocks his view of the television screen, forcing his gaze to be directed toward her, and damn it, why does she have to be so beautiful? 

His throat goes dry at her smirk, frozen in place as he feels her getting closer. Erza swiftly kisses the side of his mouth, the action taking more speech away from him. He’s sure she can feel the heat radiating from his cheeks, his entire body, and her smirk grows wider as she presses another kiss on the other side of his mouth. 

“I’ve lost my lead,” he whines when he finally finds the strength to speak. 

Gray cranes his head a bit to look past her and onto the screen, his face falling. She presses a kiss against his temple as though trying to reassure him, Gray muttering, “Second to last place.”

And then she moves so quickly all over again, not realising his grip on his controller had loosened as Erza snatches it away from him. She slides it to the other side of the room without a second thought, quickly reaching over to grab her own and slams her fingers on the buttons. 

Gray splutters loudly, roughly pushing her off his lap in incredulity. What the actual _fuck_?

He dives across the room to retrieve his controller, quickly trying to get over the shock of her actions. He’s watching the scene play out on the screen uncomfortably on his side, seeing as she weaves skillfully through the last section of the track. 

There’s the finish line getting closer, his halted car just in sight, and an unmanly shriek tears its way from his throat when he watches as she mercilessly releases the green shell. It slams into his kart, sliding him off the track, and she drives off as though she’d never just caused the most humiliating loss in his lifetime. 

Erza’s wild attempt to foil his victory only proves successful when the music signalling the end of the race sounds, the words ‘11th place’ flashing across the screen to rub further salt into his wounds. A grin breaks her face, and Gray groans loudly in frustration.

His eyes narrow at her.

“You little minx,” he growls accusingly, “You _cheated!”_

She shrugs, smiling at him innocently. “All’s fair in love and MarioKart, Gray. Isn’t this how you’re supposed to play?”

He scrunches his nose, staring at her for a few moments, and then he pounces.

Gray pins her down against the carpeted floor, hands locking her wrist into place. He smirks at her from above, opening his mouth to retort when she flips them over easily in one smooth movement. 

He lets out a noise in protest, but Erza’s laugh cuts him off. Her eyes are crinkling, and she’s practically glowing, and he can’t find it in himself to wipe that away. So he joins in with her, laughing along but not without spewing accusations of sabotage. 

“You did all that on purpose!”

She shrugs, grinning down at him. “You just lack the skill, Gray.”

He shakes his head, eyes gleaming in amusement. He’s always prided himself in being the one person able to see her like this, so carefree and teasing, away from the usual strictness she held. 

Gray lifts a hand up to pull her down to him, pressing a kiss against her lips. 

“I’m never playing MarioKart with you again,” he announces, a twinkle in his eye.

She only laughs, brushing her lips against his. “Don’t be such a baby, Gray.”

He scrunches his nose.

“I call beginner’s luck.”

“Then let’s try a different game,” she suggests, Gray raising a brow in curiosity. 

“What game?”

Erza smiles at him, and his heart pounds out of his chest. “Monopoly.”


End file.
